Sensen Struts, talk me into or out of them

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Sensen Struts are about $35 per strut, vs about $60 for other brands. Looking on the Rockauto website, they are listed as an "economy" alternative, however i have read good reviews on them vs kyb, monroe, ect.

Vehicle in question is a 2001 Toyota Avalon with 235,000 miles on its original struts.

Who here has used Sensen struts and can comment on their ride quality and longevity? I wouldnt be suprised if this toyota runs for 350-400,000 miles so i dont want a strut thats garbage after 25,000.
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
!0,000 miles is all you will get out of them......


Yeah? What strut do you recommended?
 
if you were happy with OEM, why not just go OEM (which is likely kyb).

Even if it's more expensive, you're amortizing this over another 200k miles. Trying to save money might be pennywise but pound foolish
 
Bilstein for a heavy car with mushy ride that will last many hundreds of k more...

Or else OEM since obviously they did well the first time.
 
They are garbage. Quite a few people on Toyota forums report repeated failures. They usually don't last beyond 10k.

I'd suggest getting a name-brand quick strut like KYB Strut Plus, Gabriel Readymount, or Monroe's quick strut. Sachs also makes a quick strut now, but their availability isn't the greatest.

If you buy Monroe, make sure you get the black premium Quick Strut and NOT the blue Econo-Matic. The cheap blue Econo-Matic won't last more than 30k, and they have no warranty.

KYB is the best since they're OE on these Toyotas (and most Japanese cars in general), but Sachs, Gabriel, and Monroe will work, too. Sachs makes the OE shocks on most European cars.

The Camry V6 quick struts will fit the Avalon, but don't always show up in catalogs as such.

KYB part numbers
SR4031 front right
SR4032 front left
SR4035 rear right
SR4036 rear left

Gabriel part numbers
G56930 front left
G56931 front right
G56932 rear left
G56933 rear right

Sachs part numbers
033-031 front right
033-032 front left
033-042 rear right
033-043 rear left
 
Originally Posted By: Clubber_Lang
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
!0,000 miles is all you will get out of them......


Yeah? What strut do you recommended?



Anything but the cheap stuff....
 
I wanted Bilsteins for the Camry, but they don't make one that fits.

Look at Autozone, they frequently run sales on Gabriel Ultras, a set for $300 with a lifetime warranty. I went that route, but haven't had time to install them. I've read that they're at least decent.
 
I am very pleased with the Monroe Quick Struts and shocks that I bought from Rock Auto. I got the lowest price of every place I checked, very reasonable shipping charges, very fast delivery and a 5% discount using a Rock Auto code number. I got a lifetime warranty and a $90. rebate from Monroe. That was a real deal.
 
Originally Posted By: Clubber_Lang
Sensen Struts [...] i have read good reviews on them vs kyb, monroe, ect.


Clubber- just curious, but where is it that you read these positive reviews? I googled Sensen when considering them for my LS, read some clublexus and lexusownersclub forum posts, and then QUICKLY ran to OEM.
smile.gif
 
It was from an online discount store customer review. I was hopeful that it was a japanese shock with great value, but i guess not. I just put monroe shocks on my f150, havent gotten to drive it yet but wish i would have gone kyb after more reading.(monroe sesitrac up front and heavy duty on rear, total cost $80 from rockauto, clearance speacial)
 
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If you can get Koni, Bilsten or Tokicos, get them. Otherwise, get OE from the dealer. The OE Toyota struts are priced fairly competitively and are of a known quality (as opposed to the aftermarket KYB stuff).

Sensens are entry-level shocks and struts that are best suited for cars that need to be sold.
 
They are not worth the time and energy to install them even if they were mounted outside the car and held on with wing nuts. Monroe are better not quite as bad.
Bilstein might be a bit over the top on a vehicle with this mileage but Sachs, KYB or Gabriel would be fine.
 
Here is the question:-

Are the original shocks leaking? If not, why are you replacing them?

What I am asking in general is how do we know if the originals have actually lasted 240K miles. May be they have been in need of replacement for last 200K miles!

Seriously, if your original shocks are still good, why replace them with some cheap ones? But if they just went bad and you expect your car not to last for few more years, then only cheap ones would make sense.

Personally, if I am going to replace a *working* original part preventively, I want to put new OEM part there. If the OEM part has failed, then looking at alternative makes sense but not otherwise.
 
My mother's car suffered from major nose dive when the front replacement Monroe Reflex struts wore out. They weren't leaking any oil, but were completely gone after 40,000 miles. The OEM pieces went 100,000 miles, and they did leak when they failed.

I installed Bilsteins based on BITOG advice. I will say something in the future about how long they last.

Ever look up a Toyota parts specialty website? Sometimes you can get the OEM unit for such a low price, you wouldn't even want to get an aftermarket part.
 
Originally Posted By: Clubber_Lang
It was from an online discount store customer review. I was hopeful that it was a japanese shock with great value, but i guess not. I just put monroe shocks on my f150, havent gotten to drive it yet but wish i would have gone kyb after more reading.(monroe sesitrac up front and heavy duty on rear, total cost $80 from rockauto, clearance speacial)


sensen struts/shocks are chinese, period:

http://www.sensen-na.com/?page_id=21

don't count of reliability from them even if they offer full lifetime replacement warranty on them for you. Afterall: it's the RE-n-RE that cost you.

Buy the well-established brands on the market, the ones that have many decades out in the automotive industry market and not some fly-by-nite poop out of nowhere.

Even factory OE struts are better by a large, margin.

Q.
 
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